Omagh shooting: Focus on New IRA as senior PSNI officer fights for life after gun attack in front of young son

A senior PSNI officer was fighting for his life on Thursday night after he was shot in front of his young son in an attempted murder linked to the dissident republican group the New IRA.

Det Chief Inspector John Caldwell remains critically ill in hospital and it is understood he has suffered life-changing injuries.

He was operated on immediately after the attack at a sports centre in Omagh, where he had been coaching a youth team, and he underwent further surgery on Thursday afternoon.

Investigations are continuing on both sides of the Border and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has assured the North’s chief constable, Simon Byrne, the Garda will offer any assistance it can.

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Mr Harris said on Thursday the Garda responded rapidly with additional manpower in the Border region after the attack, and these “Border patrols” would remain in place in the coming days.

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Minister for Justice Simon Harris spoke to the northern secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, on Thursday and pledged to provide “any support necessary”.

Three men, aged 38, 45 and 47, who were arrested in Omagh and Coalisland, Co Tyrone, on Thursday in connection with the attempted murder of DCI Caldwell were still being questioned by police on Thursday night.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) main line of inquiry is that dissident republicans were responsible, with a “primary focus” on the New IRA.

DCI Caldwell is a high-profile detective who worked on major murder investigations including that of Natalie McNally in Lurgan in December and Constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh in 2011.

The chief constable described him as “a valued police officer for 26 years, committed to public service” who was “held in the highest esteem within our organisation. He is a credit to his family and to the police service.”

Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said DCI Caldwell was “putting footballs into the boot of the car, accompanied by his young son” when two gunmen approached and fired “multiple shots”.

“John ran a short distance and fell to the ground when the gunmen continued to fire shots at him.”

The shooting was witnessed by crowds of adults and children, who were left terrified by the attack, and could “quite easily have been killed or seriously injured”, he said.

The “trauma” inflicted on DCI Caldwell’s son, he said, was “just horrific and he will never forget seeing his dad shot multiple times”.

The attack was widely condemned by politicians, church leaders and civic society across Ireland and Britain and in the town of Omagh.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar condemned this “grotesque act of attempted murder” while the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said he was “appalled”.

In a joint statement, the North’s five largest political parties – Sinn Féin, the DUP, Alliance, Ulster Unionists and SDLP – said they “stand united in their outright condemnation” of the shooting and “speak for the overwhelming majority of people right across our community who are outraged and sickened by this reprehensible and callous attempted murder”.

Representatives from the five parties are due to meet the chief constable on Friday and are expected to discuss the terrorist threat level in Northern Ireland, which was lowered from “severe” to “substantial” last year.